Dutch National Opera

Tosca

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

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Dates

12 Apr - 8 May 2022

Location

Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Auditorium

Running time

2:20, incl. 1 intermission

Tickets

n.a.

Bloodcurdling opera noir

The life of temperamental singer Floria Tosca is one big jumble of love, lust and political intrigue. When her lover is imprisoned by the sadistic chief of police Scarpia, Tosca takes fate into her own hands with horrifying consequences. Chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti and director Barrie Kosky launch a three-year Puccini cycle with their take on this classic opera.

From 3 to 19 May 2024, Puccini's Il trittico will be staged at Dutch National Opera. The three short operas form the final programme in the Puccini cyclus with conductor Lorenzo Viotti and director Barrie Kosky

Bloodcurdling opera noir

Tosca is a gripping opera that is packed with chaos and danger from its opening bars. With this melodrama, written in 1900 in a provocative, bold and cinematic style, Puccini didn't just herald the 20th century – he took it by storm.

Free of sentimentality

Australian-German director Barrie Kosky is extremely pleased to be directing Tosca — it was the first opera he fell deeply in love with as a boy. Under his direction, the darker sides of the opera come to the fore. Don’t expect any glamorous Roman churches, rustling velvet or sparkling pearl necklaces. Kosky concentrates solely on the psychological drama and its bloody ending. Chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti, who is a keen Puccini enthusiast, delivers a musically ‘sugar-free’ Tosca. He shakes off traditional interpretations of the score, approaching it with a fresh perspective. In this production, Viotti leads ‘his’ Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chorus of Dutch National Opera and prominent soloists.

Following her sensational performance of Salome in 2017, Swedish soprano Malin Byström returns to DNO to perform the title role in Tosca. The Mexican American tenor Joshua Guerrero, a specialist in the Italian repertoire, guarantees a fiery interpretation of the passionate artist Mario Cavaradossi, and Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan promises to deliver an energetic, yet terrifying Scarpia.

Performance information

Libretto Giuseppe Giacoso and Luigi Illica, after Victorien Sardou’s La Tosca

Musical direction  Lorenzo Viotti

Stage direction  Barrie Kosky

Set design  Rufus Didwiszus

Costumes  Klaus Bruns

Lighting design Franck Evin

Floria Tosca Malin Byström

Mario Cavaradossi Joshua Guerrero

Il barone Scarpia Gevorg Hakobyan

Cesare Angelotti Martijn Sanders

Il Sagrestano Federico De Michelis, Enric Martínez-Castignani (24 April)

Spoletta Lucas van Lierop**, Mikeldi Atxalandabaso (21 April)

Sciarrone Maksym Nazarenko*

Un Carceriere Alexander de Jong

Orchestra Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

* Dutch National Opera Studio

** Alumni Dutch National Opera Studio

Répétiteur Adam Rogala *

Chorus

Chorus of Dutch National Opera

Chorus conductor Klaas-Jan de Groot

Nieuw Amsterdams Kinderkoor (part of Nieuw Vocaal Amsterdam)

Rehearsals children's chorus Anaïs de la Morandais

Melodrama in three acts (1900)

Sung in Italian

Podcast

Barrie Kosky

Stage direction

Rufus Didwiszus

Set design

Klaus Bruns

Costumes

Franck Evin

Lighting design

Klaas-Jan de Groot

Chorus conductor

Malin Byström

Floria Tosca

Joshua Guerrero

Mario Cavaradossi

Gevorg Hakobyan

Il barone Scarpia

Martijn Sanders

Angelotti

Federico de Michelis

Il Sagrestano

Lucas van Lierop

Spoletta

Maksym Nazarenko

Sciarrone

Alexander de Jong

Un Carceriere

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

Dutch National Opera has a long-standing and proud history with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra | the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, which has been its main orchestra partner for the past 30 years. It is widely considered to be one of the best opera orchestras in the world.

Photo: Melle Meivogel

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

Naturally, it also performs in concerts of its own and then its go-to venue is the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In addition to its collaboration with chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti and music director of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra Gordan Nikolić, the orchestra regularly works with internationally renowned guest conductors and soloists, as well as a whole new generation of excellent musicians. It has played on countless stages, using music to connect people by giving exceptional performances that inspire both connoisseurs and novices alike. The orchestra's base is in the warm and welcoming NedPhO-Dome in the ‘lndische Buurt’ in Amsterdam, ensuring it is at the heart of the community. In this way, the orchestra hopes to make classical music more approachable to a wider audience.

Tosca | © Marco Borggreve

Rehearsals Tosca | Photo: Melle Meivogel

The new Amsterdam 'Tosca' lived up to the high expectations. Musically, it was a delight and star director Barrie Kosky turned it into a sublime drama.

13 April

Dutch National Opera's 'Tosca' is a theatrical, orchestral and vocal triumph

14 April

Wenn in Amsterdam aber ein vollends perfekter Musiktheaterabend als Opernkrimi entsteht, dann liegt das neben dem Regisseur auch am Dirigenten. Hier macht Lorenzo Viotti seinen Puccini zur Chefsache und zeigt (...) wie weit man es doch mit dieser grandiosen Partitur treiben kann.